From traditional African dance to the latest hits by R&B singer Cupid, drums ancient and modern will beat at the second annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival.

The festival (view lineup), which will be held on Bayou St. John at Orleans Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 4, and Sunday, Oct. 5, celebrates the historic role of Congo Square as the birthplace of American music. It was there that African slaves gathered on Sunday afternoons to practice their ancestral traditions - influencing all of the styles that would emerge from New Orleans' cultural melting pot.

"Congo Square is literally the place where it all began," said Don Marshall, executive director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit organization that produces the Congo Square Rhythms Festival. "It is an honor for us to be able to pay tribute to Congo Square's role in history - and to keep it relevant by presenting music that derives from those early traditions."

The festival was initially scheduled to take place at Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park. It had to be relocated because of ongoing construction and electrical work in the park, which created safety hazards. Bayou St. John is an area with deep ties to the local community. It is the site of the annual Mardi Gras Indian Super Sunday parade, among other events.

The Congo Square Rhythms festival begins on October 4 with a traditional African drum circle. From there, it explores the youthful sounds that have evolved from New Orleans jazz and rhythm & blues.

Da Truth, one of the youngest groups on the New Orleans marching band scene, will kick-start a second-line parade. Neo-soul singer Tondrae and contemporary R&B vocal duo Elysian Fieldz also will perform, as will two of New Orleans' most popular disc jockeys, Raj Smoove and DJ Bombshell.

Dance troupes the Show Time Boyz and the Doubletime Boyz will square off in a friendly competition of hot stepping.

Bounce, a uniquely New Orleans style of rap that borrows heavily from Mardi Gras Indian chants and second-line rhythms, will be explored with performances by hit-making artists whose popularity spans from the origins of bounce in the late 1980s to today. DJ Jubilee, Partners In Crime, Fifth Ward Weebie, Miss Tee, Big Freedia & Sissy Nobby and several others will appear.

Donald Harrison, Jr. - the modern jazz saxophonist who was named Jazziz magazine's 2007 Person of the Year - has deep roots not only in New Orleans traditional music (he comes from a long line of Mardi Gras Indians) but also in contemporary hip-hop (he has worked with rappers including the late Notorious BIG). He will combine his influences in a performance that features guest spots by hip-hop lyricists Truth Universal, Jimi Clever and SES 4-5.

Cupid - who emerged from Lafayette, La., to take over dance floors nationwide with his platinum-selling "Cupid Shuffle" - will close the show Saturday.

As a special treat, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival has created a contest powered by YouTube for Cupid's latest single, "The Happy Dance." Contestants who make a video of themselves doing the Happy Dance can submit it online through on YouTube.com (see http://www.youtube.com/group/cupidhappydance). The winner will be able to get onstage to perform the dance with Cupid at the Congo Square Rhythms Festival.

On Sunday, Oct. 5, the festival being with another African drum circle, followed by a dedication and libation to commemorate the sacred ground of Congo Square.

Then follows a full day of performances featuring African dance troupes, the unique Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, jazz and funk.

Among the highlights:

Segeunon Kone, from the Ivory Coast, brings his colorful drumming and dancing Ivoire Spectacle to New Orleans.
Two new groups will make their festival debuts at the Congo Square Rhythms Festival: Africa Brass, which blends avant-garde jazz with traditional African rhythms; and Voices of the Big Easy, featuring the poetry of Chuck Perkins and Mardi Gras Indian street funk.

A drum summit featuring many of New Orleans' top percussionists, including: Stanton Moore of Galactic, Shannon Powell, Luther Gray, Michael Skinkus, Curtis Pierre of Casa Samba, Alfred "Uganda" Roberts and Kenyatta Simon.
Several of the top African dance troupes from the New Orleans region, including the Kumbuka, Takrema, Culu and N'Kafu ensembles.

Four tribes of Mardi Gras Indians - those unique New Orleans performers who dress in elaborately feathered and beaded costumes, and whose music has influenced artists from Dr. John to the Neville Brothers. Appearing will be Fi Yi Yi, the Wild Mohicans, the White Cloud Hunters and the Yellow Pocahontas tribes.

A full afternoon of kids' activities, including drum and mask-making workshops sponsored by the Louisiana State Museum.

One of New Orleans' most popular performers, the jazz trumpeter and singer Kermit Ruffins with his band, the BBQ Swingers.

The Congo Square Rhythms Festival also includes a Health Pavilion, where numerous local health care providers and public health organizations will provide information as well as free screenings. This effort is supported by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative, the City of New Orleans Health Department, Communities of Color and the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living.

It wouldn't be a festival without great food, so there will also be vendors specializing in the best cuisine from New Orleans, Africa and the Caribbean. Participating restaurants include Dunbar's Creole Cooking, the Praline Connection, Addis Deli (specializing in Ethiopian food), Boswell's Jamaican Restaurant and La Divina Gelateria.

A Heritage Square will showcase crafts demonstrations by local artisans - including makers of African drums, Mardi Gras Indian costumes and more.

There will also be a Congo Square Marketplace where hand-made contemporary art and crafts from the New Orleans area will be for sale.

Finally, there will be children's activities organized by volunteers from the Louisiana State Museum as well as the Umoja Foundation.

"Congo Square is the place where the community gathered to sing, dance, share news and trade wares," said the Jazz & Heritage Foundation's Don Marshall. "It's also the place where Jazz Fest began. So it's only fitting that we should do our best to continue these traditions."